Rail anchor



NQW 14, 195(1) R. A. MCLAUGHLIN 2,530,02i

RAIL ANCHOR Filed Dec. 15, 1948 IN VEN TOR.

Patented Nov. 14, 1950 RAIL ANCHOR Richard A. McLaughlin, Canton, Ohio,assignor, by mesne assignments, to Poor & Company, Chicago, 111., acorporation of Delaware Application December 13, 1948, Serial No. 65,000

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to improvements in rail anchors of the generalclass which grip the base portion of a railroad rail and abut against avertical face of a crosstie.

A principal object of the invention is to provide, in a rail anchor madefrom a bar of T- shaped or other configuration in cross section having ahorizontal flange for engaging the rail and a vertical flange forabutting against the crosstie, a tie-abutting surface of large areawhich will have full surface contact against a vertical face of acrosstie when the latter is provided on its top surface with a tie platearranged in close relation to or projecting beyond the plane of saidvertical face of the crosstie.

Rail anchors of the above class, as now made of T-bar configuration incross section, contain highly advantageous featuresin that the metal ofthe device is uniformly balanced and distributed at opposite sides of acentral rigidifying rib and thereby provides maximum strength for theamount of metal used and also balances the bending strains imposed onthe hot metal during the manufacture of the anchor device. The centralrigidifying rib also serves to provide the required strength at the railgripping jaw end of the anchor and provides a surface of large area forpressing against a vertical face of an adjacent crosstie when the railis subjected to creeping pressure. However, in order to obtain the fulladvantage of the wide tie-abutting face, the tie plate must be sopositioned on the crosstie as to permit one of the T-shaped anchorbodies to overlie the top face of the adjacent crosstie sufficiently toallow the said central rib to bear flat against the adjacent verticalface of the crosstie.

The present invention is directed to certain improved structuralfeatures which, when incorporated in an anchor device of the abovegeneral class, will permit such anchor to be applied to a railroad railin a position to bear against a vertical face of an adjacent crosstiewithout regard to the position of the tie plate on the crosstie.

While the above problems have been discussed in connection with ananchor device made from T-bar stock, it is present in any known anchormade from a metal bar having a horizontal flange for engaging the railand a vertical flange for abutting against a vertical face of acrosstie.

The solution of the above problems have been difficult, because of thefact that such anchor devices are made from a metal bar of fixed crosssection, as distinguished from a casting or special forging, since theconfiguration of the bar is fixed and cannot be readily altered withoutaffecting the strength of the anchor device or the area of its railgripping surface.

According to the present invention, the anchor device herein shown ismade from a rolled metal bar of angular contour so as to provide a hori-Zontal flange for engaging and gripping the base portion of a rail and avertical flange for abuttin against a vertical face of an adjacentcrosstie. The metal stock used for the present anchor device ispreferably T-shape in cross section, so that all advantages of thisspecific section are retained in the anchor device which are incident tothe provision of the central rigidifying rib and the uniformdistribution of metal at opposite sides of said rib. One end of the baris bent into hook form to provide rail gripping surfaces which engagethe upper and lower surfaces of one base flange of the rail. The otherend of the bar is offset upwardly to provide a locking shoulder adaptedto grip the other edge of the rail base, when the anchor is driventransversely of the rail to its applied position. The centralrigidifying rib provides maximum reinforcement for the hook shaped jawportion of the anchor and the portion of the said rib which extendsbeneath the rail base is offset laterally whereby the outer face thereofprojects a short distance beyond the adjacent side face of the railengaging portion of the bar. In addition to the outward pressing oroffsetting of the said rib it is severed from the main body of the baralong the upper edge of the offset portion, so that it can be pressedoutwardly witha minimum number of bends (one at each end) and also canbe pressed out a greater distance beyond the side face of the railgripping portion of the anchor without unduly thinning or stretching themetal at the bends. The said offset portion can be severed along itsupper edge from the rail engaging portion of the anchor device forsubstantially the full width of the rail base, since the line ofseverance does not extend around the bend of the hook and since theportion of the rib which-remains attached to the main body of the anchordevice will provide sufficient strength and rigidity to the under-railportion of the anchor device.

- It is, therefore, a specific object of the present invention toprovide an improved rail anchor device having the constructions andproviding the advantages above described.

One approved form of a rail anchor constructed in accordance with thepresent invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the base portion of a railroad railsupported on a tie plate and an underlying crosstie and showing a railanchor constructed in accordance with this invention applied to the baseportion of the rail in a position to bear against a vertical face of thecrosstie.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view through the base portion of the railshowing a front face view of the improved rail anchor device andportions of the rail supporting structures, and

Fig. 3 is an end view of the rail anchor device shown in Figs. 1 and 2and illustrating its tieabutting portion engaged with an adjacentcrosstie.

Referring now to the drawing: The base portion of a railroad rail isdesignated by the reference numeral [0. H designates an ordinary woodcrosstie and I2 designates a metal tie plate secured to the upper faceof the crosstie. The tie plate does not form any part of the presentinvention and, consequently, may be of any conventional form. It isshown herein as being of a width corresponding to the width of thecrosstie, but this relative width of the tie plate and the crosstie mayvary so that in some cases the Width of the tie plate is substantiallless than M;

the width of the crosstie and in other cases the width of the tie platemay be equal to or greater than the width of the crosstie. The tie plateis also a form provided with shoulders l3l3 which are spaced apart toprovide a rail seat and also function as abutments for the oppositevertical edges of the rail base. The plate is secured to the top surfaceof the crosstie by means of driven spikes I i-44a, the latter of whichprojects over the upper surface of the rail base, at opposite sides ofthe rail to retain the rail in its proper position.

The rail anchor device comprises a bar of T-shaped cross section whichextends across beneath the rail and engages the bottom surface thereof.One end of the bar is bent into hook form to provide an upper jaw I 5for engaging the inclined upper surface 16 of the rail base and a lowerjaw l! for engaging the bottom surface of the rail base near thelongitudinal edge thereof. The other end of the bar is offset upwardly,as indicated at 18, to provide a locking shoulder which engages over thevertical edge IQ of the rail base when the anchor is in its operativeposition. The lateral arms 2il2l of the T-shaped bar provide the upperand lower jaws |5I1 and the main body portion 22 with rail engagingsurfaces of a desired width to resist all turning strains thereon whenthe lower portion of the anchor is pressed against an adjacent crosstieor is held by the ballast against retrograde movement. The rigidifyingrib 23 extends around the hook portion of the anchor so as to rigidifythe rail engaging jaws. This rigidity is sufficient to provide a firmfrictional grip on the rail, but there is suflicient resilience in themetal to compensate for variations in thicknesses of rail bases. Theportion of the said rib 23 which extends beneath the rail is severedalong a horizontal line 24 and the portion 25 is bent laterally of theanchor body so as to provide a tie-abutting face 26 which projects aslight distance beyond a side face 21 of the rail anchor body. The bends28 and 29 which connect the offset portion 25 which the anchor body maybe formed relatively sharp without undul stretching or thinning themetal at the bends and thereby makes it practical to form the offsetportion 25 with a length which extends in lengthwise contact with a sideface of the crosstie for a greater distance than would otherwise bepossible if long and sweeping bends were required. The slitting of therigidifying flange along the line 24 makes it practical to provide thetie bearing face 26 of maximum width. The portion 30 of the rigidifyingrib which remains attached to the lateral arms 2ll2l provide suificientreinforcement of the anchor body together with the attachment of theofiset portion with the body at the bends 28-49.

In applying the anchor device to a railroad rail the hook portion of theanchor is hooked over one flange of the rail base It and is driventransversely of the rail base until the locking shoulder l3 snaps upinto engagement with a vertical edge face 59 of the rail base. Theanchor device is applied to the rail base at a location whereby atie-abutting surface 26 will bear firmly against the vertical face ofthe crosstie.

When the anchor device is in its applied position the position of thetie bearing surface is relative to the side face 2'! of the anchor bodyis such that the vertical tie abutting face of the anchor will bearagainst a vertical face of the crosstie even though the tie plate mayproject a slight distance beyond the adjacent vertical face of acrosstie.

While the invention shown herein is illustrated in connection with aspecific form of anchor device, to-wit, an anchor device made from T-barstock, the specific form of anchor device shown is merely illustrativeand is not intended as a limitationv I claim:

A rail anchor comprising a bar T-shaped in cross-section, including arelatively wide verti cally disposed central rib extending the fulllength of the bar and horizontal arms at opposite sides of the centralrib, bent at one end into hook form with the horizontal arms of the Tdefining the inner surfaces of the hook and providing relatively wideflat faces for gripping the 7 top and bottom surfaces, respectively, ofone base flange of the rail with the said vertical rib extending aroundsaid bend and to the end of the hook to provide vertical reinforcementtherefor and the body being formed at its other end with shoulder meansfor engaging the vertical edge portion of the other base flange of therail; a portion of the vertically disposed rib underlying the horizontalarms beneath the rail base being slit lengthwise of the body adjacentsaid hori- 1 zontal flanges and the metal beneath the slit pressedoutwardly from its original plane to provide a relatively long and widetie abutting surface whose vertical plane is located outside thevertical side planes of said horizontal arms and the said horizontalarms providing a chord for restraining transverse and lengthwise flexingof the outwardly pressed portion of said vertical rib.

RICHARD A. MCLAUGHLIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Warr June 10, 1941

